Masovian Voivodeship (Polish: województwo mazowieckie, pronounced [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ mazɔˈvjɛt͡skʲɛ] ), also known as Mazovia Province[4] and Mazowsze Province, is a voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, containing Poland's capital Warsaw.

Masovian Voivodeship
Województwo mazowieckie (Polish)
Motto: 
"Serce Polski" (Heart of Poland)
Location within Poland
Location within Poland
Division into counties
Division into counties
Coordinates (Warsaw): 52°13′N 21°0′E / 52.217°N 21.000°E / 52.217; 21.000
Country Poland
CapitalWarsaw
Counties
Government
 • BodyExecutive board
 • VoivodeMariusz Frankowski (PO)
 • MarshalAdam Struzik (PSL)
 • EPMasovian constituency
Warsaw constituency
Area
 • Total35,579 km2 (13,737 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)
 • Total5,411,446[1]
 • Density151/km2 (390/sq mi)
GDP
 • Total€150.3 billion (2022)
 • Per capita€27,300 (2022)
ISO 3166 codePL-14
Vehicle registrationW, A
HDI (2021)0.926[3]
very high · 1st
Websitewww.mazovia.pl
  • further divided into 314 gminas

Mazowsze Province has an area of 35,579 square kilometres (13,737 sq mi) and had a 2019 population of 5,411,446, making it Poland's largest and most populous province.[1] Its principal cities are Warsaw (1.783 million) in the center of the Warsaw metropolitan area, Radom (212,230) to the south, Płock (119,709) to the west, Siedlce (77,990) to the east, and Ostrołęka (52,071) to the north.

Mazowsze Province was created on 1 January 1999, under the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998, out of the former provinces of Warsaw, Płock, Ciechanów, Ostrołęka, Siedlce, and Radom.

Mazowsze Province's name recalls the region's traditional name, Mazowsze, with which it is roughly coterminous. However, the province's southern part, including Radom, historically belonged to Lesser Poland; while Łomża with environs, though historically part of Mazowsze, is now part of Podlasie Province.

Mazowsze Province borders six other provinces: Warmia-Mazury to the north, Podlasie to the northeast, Lublin to the southeast, Holy Cross to the south, Łódź to the southwest, and Kujawy-Pomorze to the northwest.

Mazowsze Province is Poland's prime center of science, research, education, industry, and infrastructure.[5] It has Poland's lowest unemployment rate and is a very high-income province.[5] It is also popular with tourists due to the many historical monuments and its over 20% forested area of pine and oak.[6] The province's Kampinos National Park is a UNESCO biosphere reserve.

Administrative division edit

Masovian Voivodeship is divided into 42 counties, including five city counties and 37 land counties. These are subdivided into 314 gminas (municipalities), which include 85 urban gminas.

The counties, shown on the numbered map, are described in the table below.
 
Map
ref.
English and
Polish names
Area Population
(2019)
Seat Other towns Total
gminas
(km²) (sq mi)
City counties
1 Warsaw
Warszawa
517 200 1,783,321 1
(2) Ostrołęka 29 11 52,071 1
(3) Płock 88 34 119,709 1
(4) Radom 112 43 212,230 1
(5) Siedlce 32 12 77,990 1
Land counties
2 Ostrołęka County
powiat ostrołęcki
2,099 810 88,717 Ostrołęka * Myszyniec 11
3 Płock County
powiat płocki
1,799 695 110,987 Płock * Gąbin, Drobin, Wyszogród 15
4 Radom County
powiat radomski
1,530 591 152,190 Radom * Pionki, Iłża, Skaryszew 13
5 Siedlce County
powiat siedlecki
1,603 619 81,265 Siedlce * Mordy 13
6 Żuromin County
powiat żuromiński
805 311 38,688 Żuromin Bieżuń, Lubowidz 6
7 Mława County
powiat mławski
1,182 456 72,906 Mława 10
8 Przasnysz County
powiat przasnyski
1,218 470 52,676 Przasnysz Chorzele 7
9 Ciechanów County
powiat ciechanowski
1,063 410 89,460 Ciechanów Glinojeck 9
10 Sierpc County
powiat sierpecki
853 329 52,077 Sierpc 7
11 Maków County
powiat makowski
1,065 411 45,076 Maków Mazowiecki Różan 10
12 Ostrów Mazowiecka County
powiat ostrowski
1,218 470 72,558 Ostrów Mazowiecka Brok 11
13 Płońsk County
powiat płoński
1,384 534 87,183 Płońsk Raciąż 12
14 Pułtusk County
powiat pułtuski
829 320 51,862 Pułtusk 7
15 Wyszków County
powiat wyszkowski
876 338 74,094 Wyszków 6
16 Gostynin County
powiat gostyniński
616 238 45,060 Gostynin # Sanniki (1,961) 5
17 Nowy Dwór County
powiat nowodworski
692 267 79,256 Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki Nasielsk, Zakroczym 6
18 Legionowo County
powiat legionowski
390 151 117,751 Legionowo Serock 5
19 Wołomin County
powiat wołomiński
955 369 247,288 Wołomin Ząbki, Marki, Kobyłka, Zielonka, Radzymin, Tłuszcz 12
20 Węgrów County
powiat węgrowski
1,219 471 66,037 Węgrów Łochów 9
21 Sokołów County
powiat sokołowski
1,131 437 53,992 Sokołów Podlaski Kosów Lacki 9
22 Sochaczew County
powiat sochaczewski
731 282 85,024 Sochaczew 8
23 Warsaw West County
powiat warszawski zachodni
533 206 117,783 Ożarów Mazowiecki Łomianki, Błonie 7
24 Mińsk County
powiat miński
1,164 449 154,054 Mińsk Mazowiecki Sulejówek, Halinów, Kałuszyn, # Mrozy (3,574) 13
25 Łosice County
powiat łosicki
772 298 30,895 Łosice 6
26 Żyrardów County
powiat żyrardowski
533 206 75,787 Żyrardów Mszczonów 5
27 Grodzisk Mazowiecki County
powiat grodziski
367 142 94,962 Grodzisk Mazowiecki Milanówek, Podkowa Leśna 6
28 Pruszków County
powiat pruszkowski
246 95 165,039 Pruszków Piastów, Brwinów 6
29 Piaseczno County
powiat piaseczyński
621 240 186,460 Piaseczno Konstancin-Jeziorna, Góra Kalwaria, Tarczyn 6
30 Otwock County
powiat otwocki
615 237 124,241 Otwock Józefów, Karczew 8
31 Grójec County
powiat grójecki
1,269 490 98,334 Grójec Warka, Nowe Miasto nad Pilicą, Mogielnica 10
32 Garwolin County
powiat garwoliński
1,284 496 108,909 Garwolin Łaskarzew, Pilawa, Żelechów 14
33 Białobrzegi County
powiat białobrzeski
639 247 33,524 Białobrzegi Wyśmierzyce 6
34 Kozienice County
powiat kozienicki
917 354 60,253 Kozienice 7
35 Przysucha County
powiat przysuski
801 309 41,721 Przysucha 8
36 Zwoleń County
powiat zwoleński
571 220 36,222 Zwoleń 5
37 Szydłowiec County
powiat szydłowiecki
452 175 39,766 Szydłowiec 5
38 Lipsko County
powiat lipski
748 289 34,028 Lipsko 6
* seat not part of the county

Cities and towns edit

 
Population density by gmina (at 2007-01-01)

The voivodeship contains 10 cities and 78 towns. These are listed below in descending order of population (according to official figures for 2019):[1]

Cities (governed by a city mayor or prezydent miasta):
  1. Warsaw (1,783,321)
  2. Radom (212,230)
  3. Płock (119,709)
  4. Siedlce (77,990)
  5. Pruszków (62,076)
  6. Legionowo (54,049)
  7. Ostrołęka (52,071)
  8. Otwock (44,827)
  9. Ciechanów (44,118)
  10. Żyrardów (39,896)

Towns:

  1. Piaseczno (48,286)
  2. Mińsk Mazowiecki (40,836)
  3. Ząbki (37,219)
  4. Wołomin (37,082)
  5. Sochaczew (36,327)
  6. Marki (34,679)
  7. Grodzisk Mazowiecki (31,782)
  8. Mława (31,241)
  9. Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki (28,649)
  10. Wyszków (26,905)
  11. Kobyłka (24,096)
  12. Piastów (22,619)
  13. Ostrów Mazowiecka (22,489)
  14. Płońsk (22,130)
  15. Józefów (20,698)
  16. Milanówek (20,698)
  17. Sulejówek (19,766)
  18. Pułtusk (19,432)
  19. Sokołów Podlaski (18,946)
  20. Gostynin (18,588)
  21. Pionki (18,269)
  22. Sierpc (17,994)
  23. Zielonka (17,588)
  24. Garwolin (17,501)
  25. Przasnysz (17,264)
  26. Kozienice (17,208)
  27. Konstancin-Jeziorna (17,023)
  28. Łomianki (17,022)
  29. Grójec (16,745)
  30. Brwinów (13,601)
  31. Radzymin (13,005)
  32. Węgrów (12,628)
  33. Błonie (12,261)
  34. Góra Kalwaria (12,040)
  35. Warka (11,948)
  36. Szydłowiec (11,736)
  37. Ożarów Mazowiecki (11,719)
  38. Karczew (9,856)
  39. Maków Mazowiecki (9,776)
  40. Żuromin (8,867)
  41. Tłuszcz (8,156)
  42. Nasielsk (7,702)
  43. Zwoleń (7,698)
  44. Łosice (7,049)
  45. Białobrzegi (6,951)
  46. Łochów (6,825)
  47. Mszczonów (6,376)
  48. Przysucha (5,818)
  49. Lipsko (5,501)
  50. Łaskarzew (4,840)
  51. Iłża (4,733)
  52. Pilawa (4,578)
  53. Serock (4,506)
  54. Raciąż (4,384)
  55. Skaryszew (4,371)
  56. Gąbin (4,125)
  57. Tarczyn (4,116)
  58. Żelechów (3,988)
  59. Podkowa Leśna (3,851)
  60. Nowe Miasto nad Pilicą (3,755)
  61. Halinów (3,739)
  62. Mrozy (3,574)
  63. Myszyniec (3,408)
  64. Zakroczym (3,196)
  65. Chorzele (3,088)
  66. Glinojeck (3,019)
  67. Kałuszyn (2,899)
  68. Drobin (2,872)
  69. Różan (2,709)
  70. Wyszogród (2,601)
  71. Mogielnica (2,253)
  72. Kosów Lacki (2,089)
  73. Sanniki (1,961)
  74. Brok (1,941)
  75. Bieżuń (1,846)
  76. Mordy (1,788)
  77. Lubowidz (1,684)
  78. Wyśmierzyce (885)

Politics edit

The Masovian voivodeship's government is headed by the province's voivode (governor) who is appointed by the Polish Prime Minister. The voivode is then assisted in performing his duties by the voivodeship's marshal, who is the appointed speaker for the voivodeship's executive and is elected by the sejmik (provincial assembly). The current voivode of Masovia is Konstanty Radziwiłł.

The Sejmik of Masovia consists of 51 members.

Voivodes edit

Term start Term end Voivode Party Other high offices held
1 January 1999[7] 20 October 2001 Antoni Pietkiewicz AWS Voivode of Kalisz (1990–1991)
21 October 2001[8] 10 January 2006 Leszek Mizieliński SLD Masovian vice-marshal (1998–2001)
10 January 2006[9] 17 January 2007 Tomasz Koziński PiS Mayor of Praga-Południe (2002–2006)
18 January 2007[10] 1 February 2007 Wojciech Dąbrowski PiS Mayor of Żoliborz (2004–2006)
15 February 2007[11] 29 November 2007 Jacek Sasin PiS Deputy PM (since 2019), MP (since 2011)
29 November 2007[12] 8 December 2015 Jacek Kozłowski PO Vice-Chairman of Poland 2050
8 December 2015 11 November 2019 Zdzisław Sipiera PiS Mayor of Wola (2005–2006), MP (2019–2023)
25 November 2019 31 March 2023 Konstanty Radziwiłł PiS Minister of Health (2015–2018), MP (2015–2019)
31 March 2023 13 December 2023 Tobiasz Bocheński PiS Łódź Voivode (2019-2023)
13 December 2023 Incumbent Mariusz Frankowski PO Deputy director of strategy and regional development of the Masovian Vovoideship in the Marshal's Office (2007-2011)

Warsaw city councilor (2018-2023),

2018 election edit

Political groups[13] Mandates
Law and Justice 24
Civic Coalition 18
Nonpartisan Local Government Activists 1
Polish People's Party 8
Total 51

Protected areas edit

 
A moose in the Kampinos National Park (a UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve)

Protected areas in Masovian Voivodeship include one National Park and nine Landscape Parks. These are listed below.

Historical edit

 
Historical regions in present-day Masovian Voivodeship and in Poland

Masovian Voivodeship (1526–1795) edit

Masovia Voivodeship, 1526–1795 (Polish: Województwo Mazowieckie) was an administrative region of the Kingdom of Poland, and of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, from the 15th century until the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1795). Together with Płock and Rawa Voivodeships, it formed the province (prowincja) of Masovia.

Masovian Voivodeship (1816–1837) edit

Masovian Voivodeship was one of the voivodeships of Congress Poland. It was formed from the Warsaw Department and transformed into the Masovia Governorate.

Transport edit

 
Koleje Mazowieckie (Masovian Railways)

Three major international road routes pass through the voivodeship: Cork–Berlin–Poznań–Warszawa–Minsk–Moscow–Omsk (European route E30), Prague–Wrocław–Warsaw–Białystok–Helsinki (E67) and Pskov–Gdańsk–Warsaw–Kraków–Budapest (E77).

Currently, there are various stretches of highways in the area, with the A2 highway connecting the region, and therefore the capital city, with the rest of Europe. The highway passes directly through the voivodeship from west to east, connecting it with Belarus and Germany. However, the A2 is yet to be built east of Warsaw to connect Poland with Belarus. The S7 expressway runs through Poland from the north to the south passing through Warsaw, the S8 connects Warsaw with Białystok, in the neighboring north-eastern province, also forming part of the Via Baltica which heads on to Lithuania, and to Wrocław in the south-west, and the S17 being built to connect Warsaw with Lublin in the south-east and on to Ukraine.

The two main railway carriers operating in the region are the regional Koleje Mazowieckie and nationwide PKP Intercity.

The main international airport in the region is Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport.

Economy edit

Masovian Voivodeship is the wealthiest province in Poland. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was PLN 596 billion in 2021, accounting for 22.8% of the Polish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was around PLN123,000in the same year.[14]

Unemployment edit

The unemployment rate stood at 4.8% in 2017 and was higher than the national and the European average.[15]

Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
unemployment rate
(in %)
12.3 9.1 6.0 6.0 7.4 7.9 8.0 8.0 7.2 6.4 5.5 4.8

Gallery edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c GUS. "Population. Size and structure and vital statistics in Poland by territorial division in 2019. As of 30th June". stat.gov.pl. Archived from the original on 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
  2. ^ "EU regions by GDP, Eurostat". Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  4. ^ Arkadiusz Belczyk, Tłumaczenie polskich nazw geograficznych na język angielski Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine [Translation of Polish Geographical Names into English], 2002-2006.
  5. ^ a b "WHY WARSAW? - Aquatherm Warsaw". Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  6. ^ Internet, JSK. "Mazowieckie Province". Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Bez lubuskiego i świętokrzyskiego - Archiwum Rzeczpospolitej". archiwum.rp.pl. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  8. ^ Redakcja (2017-01-16). "Zmarł Leszek Mizieliński, były wojewoda mazowiecki". Echo Dnia Radomskie (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  9. ^ "Tomasz Koziński Radny m.st. Warszawy". um.warszawa.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  10. ^ "Wprost: Dąbrowski jeździł pijany na rowerze". Serwis Samorządowy PAP (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  11. ^ "Jacek Sasin". businessinsider.com.pl. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  12. ^ Polska, Grupa Wirtualna. "Jacek Kozłowski ponownie wojewodą mazowieckim". www.money.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  13. ^ "Wybory samorządowe 2018". wybory2018.pkw.gov.pl. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  14. ^ "Oto gdzie powstaje polski PKB. Najszybciej rozwija się Pomorze". Businessinsider (in Polish). 2022-12-30. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  15. ^ "Regional Unemployment by NUTS2 Region". Eurostat.

External links edit